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In this episode, I had the pleasure of chatting with Chelsie Ward, a registered nurse and FDN practitioner, who shared her journey of healing her gut and improving her overall health naturally.
Here are some of this episode's highlights:
- Chelsie emphasized the importance of using food as medicine and the benefits of a whole foods diet consisting of meat, fruits, and vegetables.
- We also discussed the harmful effects of processed foods, especially those that are gluten-free but still inflammatory due to cross-contamination and the use of wheat and pesticides.
- We explored the benefits of using herbs such as garlic, oregano, basil, and thyme in cooking and as essential oils to alleviate immediate symptoms like brain fog and digestive upset.
- Chelsie stressed the importance of using organic herbs and spices and growing your own herbs in a pot.
- We also discussed the relationship between low stomach acid and heartburn, indigestion, and reflux disease, and provided tips on how to support and improve it naturally.
- Chelsie emphasized the importance of practicing gratitude throughout the day, expressing gratitude for simple things like the sun, nature, and animals, and taking a moment to appreciate healthy food before meals.
To learn more about Chelsie and her healing journey, check out the links to her website and socials at inspiredliving.show/93
Creators and Guests
What is Inspired Living with Autoimmunity?
The podcast for high achievers who want to stay sharp, focused and full of energy despite their diagnoses. Those who know there has got to be something better than simply accepting decline.
Hosted by Julie Howton, a National Board Certified Functional Medicine Health Coach who used to suffer from crippling Rheumatoid Arthritis until she learned the tools and strategies to take her power back from autoimmunity.
In this podcast, Julie brings you interviews with thought leaders in the Functional Health and Wellness space. You will get actionable recommendations to Take Your Power Back and catapult your health. No fluff, just concrete, useful steps to improve your health!
Welcome back to The Inspired
Living with Autoimmunity podcast.
I'm your host, Julie Michelson, and
today we are joined by Chelsie Ward,
registered nurse, F D n practitioner,
spiritual healer, and author of Healed
His Way, and we're talking about how you
can heal your gut to heal your health.
Chelsie shares her tips to truly
use food as medicine in a way that
is simple and fun and will get
you on the road to feeling better.
Chelsie, welcome to the podcast.
Thank you so much, Julie.
I appreciate you having me.
I am thrilled that you're
here and I'm really looking
forward to our conversation.
I love to start with story cuz most
of us, you know, didn't dream of
joining the functional medicine
movement when we were kids.
So share with listeners
a bit of your journey.
Definitely not a, a dream as
a child, I'll tell you that.
So, I remember my grandmother
looked at me one day and she was
like, child, you get everything
that comes down this family line.
And I didn't really know what she was
talking about at that time really.
But I was born with digestive issues.
I was born with colic and that was
kind of what started me out, you
know, from a digestive standpoint.
And I was sure to get suppositories
and all those things on a regular
basis by my grandmother who
thought it was so important for
me to poop on a regular basis.
And you know, we lived on gardening
and you know, we had a garden.
We had all the right things so many
times, but I think just busy life of
parents and being introduced to a lot
of the sugary foods and junk foods
that I was introduced to as a child.
I kind of became a junk food junkie and I
suffered with digestive issues and hormone
imbalances pretty much my whole life.
At the age of 11 I started
my menstrual cycle by age 12.
Debilitating cycles that would keep me
home on a regular basis from school.
And I was put on birth control by age 12.
And so a life of medications,
you know, and with birth control
there's so many symptoms.
You know, we can have anxiety, depression,
mood swings, like all the things, and we
think there's something wrong with us.
A d D type tendencies, all those things.
And really it's side effects
of the birth control.
And so much of my life, I lived in kind of
this world of side effects, not realizing
that it was medications or just chronic
digestive issues, we never really got to
the root of as a child that led to all
these other imbalances later in life.
So by the time I was 27 years old, of
course it was birth control induced.
I went into early.
Perimenopause at age 27
stopped cycling and I'd already
started studying as a nurse.
You know, I, I was kind of like diving
into that world of traditional health
and, you know, really seeing that a
lot of the things I was going through,
Were very similar to my patients.
And I was thinking at that point,
like there has to be a better answer
than just traditional like approaches
like is medication and surgery,
like really what I have to look
forward to for the rest of my life?
And I couldn't help but say
that's not the right answer.
So I really started diving into, I.
The world of functional medicine.
At that time, I didn't really know, but
I was just looking for something to put
a fire out and I started learning how
food was medicine, how our bodies were
actually created to heal themselves.
So I went on a mission to heal myself,
and I did that, came off of birth control.
All the medications that I was on
healed my immune system, and I'm 41 now.
I'm cycling regularly.
Came out of, I'm not saying
that it's possible for all women
to come out of perimenopause.
Don't hear me wrong, of course.
But the thing is, is if we give our
body what it needs, then it's gonna
give us what we want in return, and we
can optimize our state of health just
by living out some natural, healthy
healing practices on a regular basis.
So, That's why I love this world so
much and what brought me into it.
So I put my story in a book and
kind of the rest is history.
A lot of other people I found out really
needed this work and so it became a
passion of mine to be able to share
the tools and resources that I learned
in my own health so that others could
find healing in their life as well.
Which is so amazing, and I, I
definitely understand the passion, the
fire that gets ignited when we heal
from stuff that we were originally
told we could never heal from.
So I'm, I want to, I'm thrilled
that you're cycling and, and.
I love sharing these stories.
I think listeners that it's probably
one of their favorite parts of, of the
podcast because I, I don't know what, we
can't heal, you know, I mean obviously
there are injured, there are things we
can't heal from, but I love the guests
share their journeys and it's like,
oh, and there's something else somebody
healed and, and you know, you are.
Such an expert in gut health and,
and we know, and listeners know, so
we're, we're not gonna really just
pound on, you know, we know the
gut is connected to autoimmunity.
But I do wanna explore,
you know, what we can do.
To help that gut heal.
And, and I'm gonna just let you take it.
I know there's a, there's
a lot, a lot there.
So whatever piece of it you wanna share
with listeners because I think that's
a huge part of everybody's journey is,
and even people without autoimmunity,
you know, how do we heal the gut?
Like really heal the gut.
Yeah, so important and there's so many
different directions you can take it.
Like you said, it's just, you know.
We know that the gut is kind of
that window to disease, and so
how do we really take that system
and just love and nurture it?
That's really the way I like
to look at it, you know?
And I think so many times where
we can mess up is we start saying,
what kind of pill can I put in?
What kind of medication can I put in?
What kind of thing can I do?
And we get into this doom
mentality instead of B mentality.
So I really like to take a step back
and really start with a less, less
is best approach, and using food as
medicine using anti-inflammatory types
of protocols to just let the system rest.
I think where so many people mess up
is we start to go on this whole food
plan or we, we start to say, oh, I
should eat organic, or, oh, I should
do these things with my nutrition.
Or, you know we hear
these things are healthy.
Maybe it's keto, maybe it's paleo,
maybe it's all these different types
of diets we hear they're healthy,
so we think, oh, I need to try this.
And really, I think it really
just goes back to nature.
You know, nature is healing.
Like everything that we
need is found in nature.
So whether that be herbs or
food or anything like that, it's
all created for us to access.
And once we have the right
tools, then we can begin to heal.
So if we just put in good, healthy,
whole food nutrition, Meats, fruits,
vegetables as the foundation, and
then kind of build on top of that.
Then I think we can take
our health a long way.
We start consuming a lot of those
inflammatory foods like the breads
and the pastas and the chips,
and even when we go toward these
paleo or these keto type plans.
Really those plans are intended to
bring more whole foods into our life.
They're intended to bring, like push
out some of the processed foods, but
I think what we, what we do is we
end up swapping one for the other.
Oh, I'm not supposed to have gluten,
so let me have this gluten free bread.
Which is worse, I think.
Yeah.
Yes.
And I just talked to a client
just the other day and she was
like, oh, Chelsie, I tried to go
gluten-free, but it didn't work.
It actually made me feel worse.
And I'm like, okay, well let's
talk through this, you know?
And to come to find out she's
eating a lot of gluten-free foods.
Processed foods.
Exactly.
So, and she's like, those gluten-free
foods just made me super inflamed.
Well, one, there's cross-contamination.
So there's almost always gluten
in these processed foods.
They use a lot of the same like
equipment to manufacture these products.
They're still, they still contain wheat.
They still contain all the
pesticides and herbicides that
we're spraying on our foods.
They contain high amounts of
grains, and what happens is because
we think we're eating healthier,
then we're, we have a tendency to
consume a lot more of those foods.
It's like, you know, It's like you're
just, your body's just wanting them.
They're craving them.
It's like, oh, now I'm eating a healthier
bread, or I'm eating a healthier
protein bar, or a healthier cookie.
It's keto, so it must be okay.
And,
the whole box.
Yeah.
So we do, we, so we sit down
and consume the whole box.
So it's, you know, it just becomes
more inflammatory for our systems.
So, going back to the Whole Foods.
Introducing those more, like I said
in the in the early part, meat, fruit,
vegetables, kind of as that foundation
is what I see to be one of the most
healing food plans that there is.
And then once we've done that, we've
actually eliminated a lot of things
that could be causing symptoms, right?
So we've rested the gut a little bit.
We've allowed it space to heal.
We have stopped working our
digestive system so hard.
So we've kind of calmed
that whole system down.
Our immune system's kind of
like, okay, I'm, I'm liking this
picture a little bit better.
You know, we're going into a state of
rest and we can really start to heal.
So if we do that and we're removing
those inflammatory foods, maybe
we're taking supplements at the
same time to decrease inflammation.
Things like proteolytic enzymes or
fish oil or different things like
that just to work on that inflammatory
response, just to kind of nurture that
a little bit more can be super helpful.
Even certain supplements to detox
can be helpful during this phase, you
know, just to really open up drainage.
So, Because we are exposed to so
many toxins on a regular basis.
I mean, this is just not only in
our food, we're getting sprayed with
herbicides and pesticides, right?
But we're putting toxic skincare on.
We are cleaning our
homes with toxic things.
We have carpets and furniture
that are off gassing all the time.
We are under smog, you know, in
this toxic environment we live in,
especially if we live in a big city
and we're constantly being exposed.
And the latest number I heard
was we're exposed to over two
pounds of toxins every single day
that our bodies have to process.
And I just have to believe that
our bodies were not intended to
have to process all those things.
Man makes those things, but those
aren't, they're not just a natural part
of the world that, you know, was there
at the time of creation, and now we're
having to figure out how to process
a lot of these toxins that we made,
we haven't evolved fast
enough for that, for sure.
And, and.
Again, not to be doom and gloom, cuz
we both know we can take steps to, to
protect ourselves and reduce that burden.
I was, I gave a talk yesterday
on pfas the, what they call
now, the Forever Chemicals.
And they, they had a
literature review last year.
It was 40 studies, I believe,
around the world, and over
30,000 samples of cord blood.
Every single one had pfas in it.
And so this is real, like we need
to take the steps where we can,
obviously we can't live in a bubble,
but that it's such a huge piece
of, you know, this chronic illness.
Just crazy going on right now.
I really believe.
yeah.
yeah, it's, it's huge.
You mentioned herbs as a, a component
of this real food to, to help heal
the gut and reduce inflammation.
Can we dig into that a little bit?
Yeah, you know, I think we think about
herbs like taking those in the form of
a supplement and we think it's like,
okay, well if I'm not gonna use a
medication that maybe I need to use,
like high doses of oregano or you know,
just different types of healing herbs.
And all those things are fine, like
when we're on a healing protocol.
Of course, bringing those things in
is great and honestly it's kind of a
means to an end, but we can improve
the health of our immune system every
single day just by using those a
part as a part of our daily regimen.
So some really amazing healing
herbs are things like garlic, you
know, as long as you don't have
severe sibo, those types of things.
Garlic can kind of upset your stomach
if you have some of those like.
More intense like processes that need to
be healed a little bit more, but they,
garlic can actually be really healing.
It can prevent infections like h pylori.
We can use things like oregano and
just in our food, basil, thyme.
Some of these things are
actually used in a lot of these.
Supplements to help you heal your gut.
They're of course given in higher doses,
but if our body is getting these things
on just a slow controlled basis, number
one, it makes our food so much better.
You know you're gonna enjoy your food.
Your palate is gonna shift in your mouth.
You're not gonna be searching for.
The sweets or the processed foods, or a
lot of those other foods that you found
so much love for Because let's face it,
these marketing companies know exactly
what to do to come after our taste buds.
So if we can replace that with tastier
meals and instead of making a stir
fry that just has chicken and you
know, broccoli and you know, just.
N nothing in there, no flavor.
We can add these herbs and spices and they
have natural anti-inflammatory effects.
They have natural antimicrobial effects.
They have healing properties
that are just really gonna help
decrease inflammation in the body.
You can use these in the form of
food, just like seasonings and spices.
You can also use them in
the form of essential oils.
You know, so that's another
thing that I really love.
It's like, you know, those
things can be helpful for.
To me, it's those just immediate
symptoms that come on that you're
just like, oh, I feel like I'm
having some sort of flare today.
Like I'm just not really feeling myself.
Maybe my brain's not on point.
Today I'm having a little bit
of brain fog using something
like Wild Orange Essential oil.
You know, just kind of like putting
a couple drops in your hands, rubbing
'em together, putting it on your neck.
Your dete and even your wrist can be
super helpful for just like getting
your energy flowing a little bit,
getting your brain moving, even
peppermint, you know, using peppermint,
like sucking on a peppermint or like
a peppermint lozenge or a peppermint
essential oil that you can get going.
A another thing is things
like fennel, fennel tea.
Those are really great
for digestive upset.
So if you have bloating or if you
have gas or if you have some sort
of other digestive issue going on,
they make teas that have coriander.
Fennel, those types of things that
are really beneficial for just
your digestive system as a whole.
So it's not only just putting 'em on your
food, you can have the herbal teas around.
You can have a lot of different
things in the arsenal just to kind
of make sure that you're covered.
And a lot of this is gonna
depend on your symptoms.
So maybe chamomile is
good for sleep, you know?
So just having a few things in your
arsenal to support you, and teas
and seasons and spices are a really
good way to go to do that as well.
That's such amazing advice for people
that aren't already cooking with herbs.
Do they have to be fresh?
Can they be dry?
Do you have any like tips and tricks for
just learning to start to play with them?
I really like to think about cuisines
that you really enjoy, and to me that's so
easy sometimes cuz it's like, Some people
are coming from like, I like spaghetti,
or I like the Italian type seasonings.
Or some other people may like,
like Mexican type dishes.
And finding a seasonal blend that can be
just like, okay, here's my taco blend.
I'm gonna use that on fajitas and I'm
gonna use that on taco salad, or I'm gonna
use that on more Mexican style dishes.
You'll kind of start to
pick up those flavors.
So one of the big flavors in say,
Mexican type seasonings is cumin.
So then you kinda, you learn to pick
out those flavors and then you might
buy some cumin on the side, or you
smell it and you kind of get used to
it and you really understand how that's
gonna mix with maybe pento beans.
Like it's, it makes a great addition to
pinto beans, you know, so you might learn
to use that in one dish as a season along.
So, The same with like Italian seasonings,
you know, Italian has marum, it has
oregano, it has a lot of different
of your greens, like the green leafy
I guess roots and things like that.
Yes.
So those are really like, I would say
the biggest thing to really consider
here is make sure that they're organic.
So, Because you're getting, you're
getting, you're getting a lot
of bang for your buck when it
comes to these herbs and spices.
So if you've never seen spices or
grains or anything grown in a field,
if you haven't seen these big airplanes
come over and literally just saturate
them with chemicals, I encourage
you just, I mean, do a quick Google
search and you're gonna see it.
It's very scary.
Everything that's touch, like every
component of that plant is being
touched with herbicides, pesticides,
I mean, completely saturated.
Here's the thing, these seeds are
many times genetically modified.
These seeds are many
times already sprayed.
We can't change the plant after
the seed has already destroyed
the entire, the entire plant.
So getting organic is super,
super important just because.
Your body knows what to do with it.
When we start putting something
genetically modified, or we start putting
these herbicides and pesticides, we are
gonna start to see things like leaky gut.
We get holes poked in
our intestinal lining.
We have proteins spilling into
circulation where they don't belong.
This is when that immune
response happens, right?
So if you already have one
autoimmune condition, you
create this leaky gut system.
And these additional proteins
are spilling into circulation.
This is one way that other autoimmune
conditions are usually coming into play,
and it's like one will lead to another,
lead to another, lead to another.
And you think you're a mess.
You're not a mess.
It's just that your system has now, like
you've created the environment inside for
these things to replicate very quickly.
So the organic is so super important.
Just it's, it's one little thing
that we can do to kind of like,
put on the brakes a little bit
when it comes to the, the fire.
I love that.
And, and the herbs are so nutrient dense.
For people that are trying to work
on increasing, you know, their, their
nutrient density and their veggie
intake, a little bit of herb a little
bit, you know, a clove of garlic
is like a serving of vegetables.
It's, it's really amazing.
I wanna add also, I'd like to thank all of
the organic blends would just be what you
think you're getting, but this is another
place you have to read your labels.
So often they're putting
sugar in these, these blends.
I went to a this fancy spice
store and I bought a gift
for somebody without reading.
The back and then before I gifted
it, I read it and it had sugar.
I tossed it out.
And it wasn't a sweet,
it was an herbal blend.
It shouldn't have had sugar in it.
So it's still read your labels for sure.
And herbs are so fun to grow.
Like, even if you're not a
gardener it's, it's just a great,
you can grow them in a pot.
I know.
It's just fun.
Yeah, jump on Amazon.
Grab like a little herb grower in
your, and put it in your windowsill.
It's so cute.
And you can snip those fresh herbs
if you've never had fresh herbs.
Oh, it makes a world of
difference in your dishes.
It's like night and day and
you know, and here's how you
ex, here's how I explain it.
So you know how you have an Italian
dish and you make the sauce and
it's like always better the next
day, you know, because the flavors
have time to marry and all that.
It's like you're getting that on day
one when you're using fresh herbs.
It's like, it's like they're
already just like so flavorful
and robust whenever they're fresh.
Yeah.
And they just, they, even when you're not
cooking with them, they smell so good.
I can't wait for my
herbs to, to, to explode.
We just planted the garden last week
though, so we have to be a little patient.
Yes, yes.
I did the same.
I'm like, okay, I am waiting and I go
out there every day and I'm talking to
my vegetables and I'm like, you know,
loving on 'em and it's so much fun.
It's, it's the best and it, it,
it really has become addictive.
People say all the time, well,
I don't know how to garden.
I'm like, I don't know how to garden.
And we don't buy produce
pretty much all summer.
I mean, we have enough.
It, it's incredible.
And every year we just add, it's
like, oh, well we haven't grown.
Last year we grew butternut squash for
the first time, and now it's always
gonna be one of the, the summer staples.
You know, we, and we're,
we're, we ate it all.
Winter it holds.
So it, it can, it can
get you hooked for sure.
And it's a learning curve.
Just like everything, you know, it's
like I, I messed up, like the first
year I had like tons of tomatoes and
peppers and they were flourishing.
And I'm like, what?
What's wrong with my squashing zucchini?
You know?
And I've moved, you know, to
different areas and like, if you're
moving and you're in a different
area, different climate, like things
need, you know, different amounts
of water, they need different
amounts of sunshine, you know, just.
So play with it.
Plant one or two things, and don't
get frustrated with the process.
It's, it can be a lot of
fun if you start doing it
It is.
It, it definitely is.
And yeah, I joke, I, my
stuff grows in spite of me.
Really.
It's like survival of
the fittest in my garden.
And we've now added the, like the
squash, some of the stuff we grew last
year it was not even in the garden.
I just put it.
In the beds around the
house and it, it was happy.
And we have terrible soil, so it,
it really is easier than you think.
Oh yeah.
Things wanna grow.
They wanna live and thrive.
What are some tips for listeners?
So that's the food, you know,
anti-inflammatory, healing foods.
Whole foods.
Real foods.
The herbs are so incredible.
What are some other things that that
listeners can do to aid digestion?
Just to help you digest your food better?
One of the things that I see is
very common is low stomach acid.
So it is so important for us
to kind of support just acid.
And the reason being is because if we
have low stomach acid, we're actually
creating an environment that, number
one, we don't digest our food well,
so we don't absorb our nutrients.
We don't break those down as well.
So if you have, maybe you're passing
food in your stool, that's a really a
big sign that you have low stomach acid.
A lot of my clients even say, Hey, my, my
poop is the same color as the food I ate.
And I'm like, that is not good.
That means that you have low stomach acid.
Now, I mean, if you eat a ton of
beets, that that might be, you know,
a different story, but you know, for
the most part, you shouldn't eat.
Greens, and then it'd be green
and you shouldn't eat peppers,
and then it'd be red, you know?
So different things like that.
So if you're seeing that, then
we really wanna work on that.
Stomach acid.
And I'm gonna throw in another
such a common Symptom of low
stomach acid is so count.
You know, this is one of those cases
where functional medicine has a
just a 180 approach from traditional
western medicine, but low stomach
acid causes heartburn and reflux
Yeah,
you're not getting that signal and,
and can cause constipation too.
So So, so what do we do since
it is such a common thing what,
what do we do to support that?
So what I love to use is bitter greens.
So anything like, just think of,
you know, greens that you're gonna.
Grow, like you can do collared greens,
you can do mustard, you can do dandelion,
you can do any type of like leafy green
vegetable, so the more bitter, the better.
Even things like hale, they're
really super beneficial for just
helping you improve that system.
The other thing is
citrus, but citrus fruits.
And what I love about citrus is that
you can really pair it with anything.
You can put it on a salad.
You can have it as a side in
the morning with your breakfast.
You can.
Have it as a dessert for dinner.
It goes with anything.
So grapefruit is one of the best for
actually helping improve the stomach acid.
You can have a warm glass of
lemon water in the morning.
That'll kind of help perk up the
liver and just tell it to wake up
and start that digestive process.
And another thing I like to
do is apple cider vinegar.
So some people like to
take it before meals.
You might just put a couple teaspoons
and a glass of water and drink it
down maybe 30 minutes before a meal to
kind of help that digestive process.
But you can also add it to your foods so
you can make dressings with it for salads.
Sometimes I'll just do
like a bed of greens.
Put a few warm vegetables on there and
then, you know, I'm making a salad.
Yes.
But it's got that, it's
got the cold greens.
It's got the warm vegetables, and then
I'll top it with some chicken and I
put a dressing on there, but I'm really
topping that with the apple cider
vinegar to give it that punch, but also
to help with the digestive process.
So if you're eating greens and you're
eating these colorful vegetables,
if you'll start with those first.
So start your meal fresh fiber
first kind of like guideline.
Then you're gonna notice that you
start to really break down your food
a lot better, and it's because these
foods have natural digestive enzymes
in them, and they'll help you produce
more of that, those enzymes release
more of the enzymes in your mouth,
help you improve your stomach acid so
that you can better digest everything
else as it comes in that protein that
feels really heavy in your stomach.
It usually happens not because
you're reacting to protein or red
meat or anything like that, but it's
really because you don't have the
stomach acid to break it down and
it's sitting in there like a brick
because it needs the extra enzymes
and that acid to really break it down.
That is amazing gold and, and
almost everybody I work with, if
not everybody needs support with
enzymes and stomach acid and just
getting things totally reset.
So I, I love those tips.
Again, it's just stuff you can
incorporate in your meals, which is
fantastic, but you can't get it in a box.
Right.
Yeah, it's so true.
It's, you know, one supplement that
I may use for people, like with the
digestive enzyme, something with
be attain hcl can be beneficial.
You really have to be careful because
sometimes our stomach lining can be
so irritated from stress from, again,
those herbicides and pesticides from
just breakdown and the little cilia.
That are lining your gut,
they are actually responsible
for absorbing the nutrients.
And when we have leaky gut, when
we have stomach breakdown, when we
have chronically low stomach acid,
those cilia actually start to break
down and think of it like just
kind of like a raw wound sometimes.
So if we start putting acid in a
little too fast without strengthening
that stomach lining, A lot of times
we can feel burning, we can feel
irritation and and things like that.
And we think, and that's when we
think, oh no, I have high stomach acid.
And people will say, no,
my stomach acid's not low.
It's really high.
And I'm like, well, your body is actually
producing that in a very quick amount.
Very fast every time you put
food in, because it's like,
oh no, something's coming in.
I've gotta produce enough acid to break
it down because, yeah, because the stomach
acid is chronically low, and that's the
reason that happens again, and that's what
causes the heartburn and the indigestion
and the reflux disease as well.
I love that.
And, and to top off, you mentioned it
you know, chewing your food, right?
You mentioned the enzymes
that get in in our mouth.
I mean, just chewing really well in and.
You know, mindful eating all,
all of the things, right?
Getting out of that stress response before
you start to eat is just, it's like magic.
So,
Yeah.
We are in such a fast paced go
go mentality, and this is just.
You know, we're on the run, we're
grabbing a fast food burger,
we're grabbing a fast meal.
It's like, how can we get the quickest
thing in possible and if we will just
slow down long enough to chew our
food, digestion begins in the mouth.
So if we chew our food, break it down.
I like to say to the consistency
of salsa, so maybe not the
real chunky salsa, but you know
My grandfather used to
always say he was a chewer.
He was, he said, you know, chew
until you don't even need to
swallow, is what he used to say.
just let it absorb.
Yeah.
That's so good.
It's good because we
don't slow down enough.
We don't even breathe.
It's like, I remember sitting
at a, like a little subway bar.
It was in Philadelphia, and this
guy hands me a sub and I ate it.
And he was like, did you even chew that?
And I was like, I was so embarrassed.
And then I was realizing, oh my
gosh, this is how I live my life.
You know, I'm on a vacation and I
should be enjoying this sub, you
know, that he's put in front of me
this Philly sandwich and Philly.
And I didn't even get to enjoy it
because I was so busy, just like being
in my rushed mindset and we're just
so guilty of not taking the time to
slow down to even taste our food.
that's such a, such a great reminder.
So you've already given us this
gigantic list of things people can
start incorporating and doing, but
this is the point of the interview
where I put you on the spot.
I ask you to just give listeners one step.
If they do one thing after listening
to this episode, something they can
start today to improve their health.
It's gonna be unconventional
Yay.
Good.
Love it.
And after illness and after
burnout and after illness again.
And just, you know, going through my own
health journey, watching other people
go through their health journey, I've
started to connect a really big dot, and
that is really embracing the slowdown.
And this is huge because so many times we
are like, I'm gonna do the yoga because
like I, I know that it's, it's my way of
slowing down and I'm gonna heal from this,
and then I'm gonna take these pills and
that's my way to heal my physical body.
And then I'm gonna, I'm gonna
do this meditation because
that's gonna heal my mindset.
And we start to do all these things
and we're just like forcing health.
And what happens is
we're in that yoga class.
Yes.
But we're not really in the yoga class.
We are checking it exactly.
We're checking it off the list.
So one tip that I'm gonna leave
you with is start your daily
health practice with gratitude.
It doesn't matter what it is, you know,
it can be like, I don't really feel like
taking a walk in the morning, but I know
I need that sunshine and the sun on my
skin and to reset the circadian rhythm.
So getting out in the
sunlight can be as simple as.
Like if we are grateful for that, for the
sun and the ability to move our body and
just expressing gratitude and thankfulness
for the birds that are singing to us on
our adventure and really taking in the
beauty of the sky, the green around us.
Maybe we see a deer in the distance.
I don't know what you have around you
when you're taking your morning walk.
But if we can begin to express that
gratitude, if we can sit down for
five seconds, not even five minutes,
five seconds, and take a few deep
cleansing breaths before our meal.
Make the decision to celebrate the
fact that we're having a healthy meal.
We're choosing a healthy meal.
Express gratitude for the animal that
may have provided its life for us.
Gratitude that we have
amazing food on our plate.
Gratitude for having the knowledge and
understanding that food is healing.
And just trusting and believing and
having faith that as we do those things,
that that food is really gonna come in.
It's gonna nourish ourselves.
It's gonna nourish everything
inside of our body in a way
that we can begin to heal.
I think this will take us so far,
it's, it's really just finding
the gratitude in everything.
Some people might find that journaling
is very easy, a easy way to express
that, like writing down the things.
Me, I just like to voice it.
I just like to say I'm so grateful
for, you know, and as I'm on my
morning walk, I'm, I'm doing that.
I've started a gratitude jar before
and every time something great happens
in the day, just go to your jar, write
down that wonderful thing that happened
and like, just watch that paper.
Just stack up over time
and it watch your jar feel.
Because I think so many times we can
be so focused on our healing journey.
We're like, oh, we gotta
do the one more thing.
Oh, the one more step.
And am I gonna deal with this inflammation
and this autoimmune condition and
this process for the rest of my life?
But if we can remember and we can look
at that little jar and we can see those
little papers stacking up every single
day, we can be so reminded that we
are doing really good on our journey.
I love that.
And it is a journey.
it is
amazing.
And I, I love that.
I, I'm like, is, is
gratitude unconventional?
I mean, I guess conventional.
Conventional.
Not on this show.
It's not.
But I, I
your vegetables.
I love it.
I love it.
Before we wrap up, for people
that are listening on the go,
where's the best place to find you?
So I am, I'm pretty much
all over social media.
Chelsie Ward Wellness, and
it's c h e l s i e w a r D.
I'm at Chelsie ward.com and
I'm on Instagram, Facebook,
you know, it's very easy.
My book has healed his way.
It's on my website, it's on Amazon.
So just do a quick Google search.
You should be able to find me.
Amazing.
Chelsie, thank you so much.
You have shared incredible
nuggets with us today.
Thank you so much for having me, Julie.
It's been my pleasure.
For everyone listening remember, you
can get the show notes and transcripts
by visiting Inspiredliving.show.
I hope you enjoyed this
episode as much as I did.
See you next week.